Oscillatory cam ratchet drive



May 8, 1956 E. SCHNEIDER OSCILLATORY CAM RATCHET DRIVE Filed Feb. 3, 1953 United States Patent OSCILLATORY CAM RATCHET DRIVE Emile Schneider, Porrentruy, Switzerland, assignor to Societe Horlogere de Porrentruy, Phenix Watch Co. S. A., Porrentruy, Switzerland, a Swiss firm Application February 3, 1953, Serial No. 334,885

Claims priority, application Switzerland February 20, 1952 3 Claims. (Cl. 74-126) My invention has for its object improvements in timepieces that are automatically wound up by means of an oscillatable mass.

According to a primary feature of my invention, the oscillatable weight drives a star-shaped cam cooperating with a lever pivotally secured to the axis of a ratchet wheel forming part of the winding up gear, said lever carrying a catch cooperating with said ratchet wheel so that the oscillations of the lever produced by the oscillations of the weight may produce the rotation of said ratchet wheel and thereby the winding up of the timepiece.

I have illustrated in accompanying drawings by way of example and by no means in a binding sense a preferred embodiment of my invention together with a modification thereof. In said drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a time-piece, said figure showing only those parts that are necessary for an understanding of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-section on an enlarged scale through line II-II of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an axial cross-section illustrating a modification in the weight-carrying means, while Fig. 4 is a plan view thereof.

In Figs. 1 and 2, the rotary winding up weight is designated by 1; it is pivotally secured at 2 and is rigid with a three-arm or star-shaped cam 3 cooperating selectively with the head 4a of a lever 4 pivotally secured at 5 coaxially with the axis of the ratchet wheel 6; the latter is rigid with a pinion 7 (Fig. 2) driving the ratchet wheel 8 formed on the watch spring-box. To the lever 4 is pivotally secured at 9 a catch 10 cooperating with the ratchet wheel 6, to urge the latter into rotation in the direction of the arrow 11, corresponding to a winding up of the time-piece. A pawl 12 cooperates also with the ratchet wheel 6. The catch 10 and the pawl 12 are submitted to the action of a common spring 13 constituted by an elastic blade secured through its end 13a to the catch 12 and cooperating through its free end 13b with the catch 10. The lever 4 is held in contact with the cam 3 by a spring blade 14, secured to the frame of the clockwork at 16 and the tensioning of which may be adjusted through an eccenter 16.

The angular shifting of the winding up weight 1 produces, through the agency of the cam 3, a rocking movement of the lever 4 which provides for the winding up of the time-piece.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4, the plate 17 forming the winding up weight is rigid with a sleeve 18 revolubly carried by rollers or needles 19 fitted between said sleeve and a stationary spindle 20; the sleeve 18 is rigid with the star-shaped cam 18a cooperating with the lever 4.

What I claim is:

1. In a transmission gearing especially for the selfwinding mechanism of a timepiece, a frame, an oscillatory star-shaped cam pivotally mounted on said frame, a ratchet wheel rotatably mounted on the frame with its axis of rotation spaced from and parallel to the axis of said cam, a lever pivotally mounted coaxially with said ratchet wheel and having a free end engageable with the periphery of said star-shaped cam, spring means yieldably urging said lever into engagement with said cam, a driving pawl pivotally mounted on said lever, and engaging said ratchet wheel to drive said wheel in a predetermined direction, said lever normally engaging said star shaped cam between two points thereof and being oscillatable by movement of said star-shaped cam in either direction to advance said ratchet wheel through the action of said driving pawl, a retaining pawl pivotally mounted on said frame and engaging said ratchet wheel to hold said Wheel against retrograde movement, and a floating spring blade secured at one end to one of said pawls and engaging the other of said pawls to urge both pawls into engagement with the ratchet wheel.

2. Transmission gearing according to claim 1 in which the pivoted mounting of said driving pawl on said lever is disposed between the pivotal axis of said lever and the free end of said lever which engages said cam.

3. Transmission gearing according to claim 1 in which said floating spring is fixed at one end to one of said pawls and has the other end in sliding engagement with the other of said pawls.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,710,631 Loram Apr. 23, 1929 2,645,894 Huguenin July 21, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 142,511 Switzerland Dec. 1, 1930 163,058 Switzerland Oct. 2, 1933 166,843 Switzerland Apr. 2, 1934 238,539 Switzerland Nov. 1, 1945 268,215 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1950 275,861 Switzerland Sept. 1, 1951 

